Water scarcity concerns growing

Speedy solutions are needed to combat water shortages, according to experts and politicians who debated the issue at a conference hosted by the European Water Forum in the European parliament on 16 April. Water crept up the EU's political agenda last summer, following the serious droughts that swept across Europe. The events forced the Commission to react, publishing a communication on water scarcity and drought, which proposes higher water prices to deter overuse. "The EU is looking at addressing the issue through water pricing policies," confirmed Commission official Andrea Tilche.Water shortages are becoming more common in Europe, with the Catalan region in Spain that started importing water from as far afield as Southern France.